Spring Into Action

Director's View

Dr. Vic Wilson, CLAS Executive Director

Greetings and salutations,

I hope this letter finds you enjoying a productive semester. By the time you get this issue, the second semester will be nearing the half-way point, and some of you will be gearing up for spring break. Hold your horses, and let’s not get the cart before the horse. Let’s also ask ourselves why we have so many horses and carts around our schools. Just sayin’… The bottom line is simple: look forward to the breaks you will get while making sure you are firmly grounded in the present. Everyone under your care deserves your best leadership every day.

Thus far, the 2022-2023 school year has been very good from a state standpoint. We have received excellent news about our scores on national and state tests, and many states around the nation have taken notice of the great things going on in Alabama education. This is due in large part to the work of school leaders from Addison to Ariton and from Ardmore to Atmore. Every area of our state is moving forward and making great strides to increase the learning outcomes for our students.

You have heard me say, “Craft your narrative, or someone will craft it for you,” and never has the time been better than now to do just that. The 2023 Alabama Legislative Session begins on March 7, 2023, and you can read about the importance of the session later in the CLAS Leader Magazine.

Our professional learning year has also been excellent, and this is due to the great work by Dr. Demica Sanders, Leslie Dennis, Linda Campanotta, Alyssa Godfrey, Anita Reid, DeAnna Swindle, Tammy Coker, Katrina Akers, and Debbie Lee. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated staff at CLAS, and I hope you take a moment to let them know what a great job they do. I also hope you continue to engage us about your professional learning needs. We strive to provide the best professional learning, and we want to know your thoughts in this area.

We set a record for the 2022 membership total. We ended the year with 4060 members! This is great news, and yet another indication of the hard work you all do to engage your peers about the work CLAS does. Almost every affiliate increased in numbers as well, and congrats go to AAESA for growing to the largest affiliate and to AASCD for passing the threshold for another CLAS Board seat.

I hope your semester continues to be one of excellence, and I hope you will let us know how we can help you in your leadership journey. Thank you all for the great job you do for everyone under your care. You are all rock stars in my book.

Warmest regards,

Vic